The invention relates to gates and in particular unlocking of gates.
Gates are useful to inhibit undesired access through the gate while permitting relatively easy access if desired. Child safety gates are useful to help prevent injuries to children by inhibiting access through the gate by a child while permitting easy access through the gate by an adult. These gates can be mounted, e.g., in doorways, in hallways, between a wall and a stairway railing, or between two stairway railings (such as on a deck). With the gate in place, children are inhibited from accessing areas that are undesirable for the child to access. For example, it may be desirable to inhibit a child from accessing a kitchen, where toxic cleaners may be stored, or a stairway that the child may fall down. Safety gates can also inhibit children from gaining access to a pet or vice versa. A door of the gate can permit access if the door is moved to provide a passageway through the gate.
The invention provides a mechanism to guard against children undesirably opening a gate and also provides hands-free unlocking and opening of a gate. Among other uses the invention is highly effective in providing an obstruction to help prevent children or animals from accessing an area that it is undesirable for the child or animal to access. For example the invention can be used to block a doorway, hallway or other passageway.
In general, in one aspect, the invention provides an apparatus including a pair of frame members adapted for mounting to opposing surfaces of a passageway. A door is mounted to at least one of the frame members for movement between a closed position, in which the door and frame members substantially traverse the passageway, and an open position, in which a portion of the passageway is free of the door and frame members, the portion being large enough to permit passage of an adult therethrough. A lock is coupled to at least one of the frame members and adapted to retain the door in the closed position, the lock including an actuator adapted to release the lock to permit movement of the door from the closed position toward the open position upon application to the actuator of a force of at least a predetermined weight of a child.
Implementations of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The actuator is disposed near a bottom portion of a frame member when the pair of frame members are mounted to the opposing surfaces. The predetermined weight is approximately 40 pounds. The lock is adapted to couple a frame member to the door near both a top of the door and a bottom of the door.
The actuator is adapted to move a recess camming surface, defining a portion of a recess, relative to and against a detent camming surface, of a detent that is biased into the recess when the door is in the closed position and the lock is in a locked position, to substantially remove the detent from the recess. The door is pivotally mounted to the frame about a pivot axis and the detent is a pin that is biased radially outward from the pivot axis. A substantially U-shaped frame includes the frame members and a cross member, the frame members being first and second arms forming sides of the U and the cross member connecting the arms and forming a bottom of the U, the door being pivotally attached to the first arm, and the actuator includes a bracket slidably carried by the second arm and including the recess camming surface. The door includes another pin, and the actuator includes a foot pedal, coupled to the bracket and movably mounted to the frame, including a foot pedal camming surface that provides a wall of a foot pedal recess and that moves relative to and against a pin camming surface, of the another pin that is biased radially outward from the pivot axis and into the foot pedal recess when the door is in the closed position and the lock is in the locked position, to substantially remove the another pin from the foot pedal recess when the foot pedal moves relative to the frame. The arms extend away from the cross member and away from each other.
In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a safety gate for use in a doorway, hall, or the like. The safety gate includes a substantially U-shaped frame having first and second arms connected by a cross member, the frame providing a passageway between the arms above the cross member. A bracket is movably coupled to the second arm and provides a bracket recess, a part of the bracket recess being provided by a bracket camming surface. A foot pedal is coupled to the bracket and movably coupled to the frame near the bottom end of the second arm. A spring is coupled to the foot pedal and requires a predetermined force to change a length of the spring. A door is pivotally mounted to the first arm along a pivot axis and includes a pin biased away from the pivot axis and configured to be received by the bracket recess, the door substantially preventing an infant from passing through the passageway when the pin is received by the bracket recess. When the foot pedal is moved toward a bottom of the frame in a gate-opening direction, the bracket camming surface bears against the pin to move the pin substantially out of the bracket recess.
Implementations of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The predetermined force is about a weight of a three-year-old child. The passageway extends from a first side of the frame to a second side of the frame, and a portion of the foot pedal is disposed on the first side of the frame and another portion of the foot pedal is disposed on the second side of the frame. The first and second arms are adapted to engage opposing surfaces and extend from the cross member and away from each other such that when the arms are coupled to the surfaces such that the arms extend substantially perpendicular to the cross member, a force of less than about 40 pounds applied to the gate is insufficient to slide either arm relative to a respective one of the surfaces.
The bracket and the foot pedal are slidably carried by the second arm. The pin is a first pin, the foot pedal provides a foot pedal recess, partially provided by a foot pedal camming surface, the door includes a second pin biased away from the pivot axis and configured to be received by the foot pedal recess, and when the foot pedal slides relative to the frame in the gate-opening direction, the foot pedal camming surface bears against the second pin to move the second pin substantially out of the foot pedal recess.
In general, in another aspect, the invention provides an apparatus for use with a door movably mounted to a frame member between an open position and a closed position. The apparatus is adapted to inhibit the door from moving from the closed position toward the open position while in a locked position and to change to an unlocked position to permit the door to move from the closed position toward an open position if a force of at least a predetermined weight of a child is applied to the apparatus.
Implementations of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features.
The door includes a door member having a door member camming surface and the apparatus includes an apparatus camming surface. The apparatus is further adapted to move the apparatus camming surface relative to the door when the force is applied to the apparatus and to remain substantially fixed relative to the door otherwise. The apparatus camming surface is configured and disposed to cause one of the camming surfaces, biased into a recess provided at least partially by the other camming surface, to be substantially removed from the recess. A portion of the apparatus is adapted to be slidably carried by the frame. The apparatus includes a bracket, slidably coupled to the frame, and an actuator to which the force is applied, the bracket including the apparatus camming surface. The recess is a first recess, the member is a first member, and the member camming surface is a first member camming surface, and the actuator includes an actuator camming surface configured and disposed to cause one of the actuator camming surface and a second member camming surface of a second member of the door, biased into a second recess provided at least partially by the other one of the actuator camming surface and the second member camming surface, to be substantially removed from the second recess when the force is applied to the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a foot pedal to which the force is applied.
Various aspects of the invention may provide one or more of the following advantages. A gate can be unlocked in a hands-free manner. A gate can also be unlocked and opened in a hands-free manner. Accidental opening of a gate can be guarded against. Undesired opening of a gate by a child or an animal such as a pet can also be guarded against.